About 1200 model vehicles from across Otago are on display in Dunedin.
New Zealand Model Vehicle Club and Otago branch secretary Eric Brockie, of Dunedin, said the theme of the expo this year was ‘‘planes, trains and automobiles’’.
The branch’s annual model expo opened in Community Gallery in Princes St on Tuesday, and runs until August 11.
The plain and train models were static, Mr Brockie said.
The older models sparked memories for many people attending the expo.
‘‘People remember them from their childhood.’’
The national club was formed in 1969 and members — numbering about 50 — would celebrate the club’s golden jubilee next year, Mr Brockie said.
‘‘A specialist club going for 50 years is quite an achievement.’’
The Otago branch formed two years after the club was founded, and the expo helped the branch survive, he said.
The club’s membership peaked at about 300, when models could not easily be bought from shops, and people joined in order to learn how to import models from overseas companies.
Now people could easily buy models from overseas companies on the internet, Mr Brockie said.
